There Are Hidden Themes on Your Windows PC
Windows themes offer a unique combination of wallpapers, sounds, and colors to switch between. Many of them come by default, and there are other themes that can be downloaded from the Windows Store. But you don’t need to look for other themes for your PC. Some of the best Windows themes are just hidden away.
The reason these themes are hidden is because they’re not really meant for you – Microsoft has added these new themes in Windows 11 22H2 for Education users . Anyone using a fully updated Windows device for education can take advantage of these new themes to personalize their machine, but you don’t really need an education machine to access the features. They are built into the 22H2 update. However, they require a specific set of steps to download in the first place.
Twitter user PhantomOcean3 shared for the first time the steps to unlock these hidden educational themes on your PC. To get started, your computer must have the latest Windows 11 22H2 update installed. Your computer may have already updated automatically, but if not, you can install it by going to Settings > Windows Update > Check for Updates . If the update is not yet installed on your PC, you can download it manually from the Microsoft website using the Windows 11 Setup Assistant . Before manually installing any OS, make sure you have a system backup.
If your system is running version 22H2 or later, open the registry editor (or regedit). You can open regedit from the search box by typing regedit and selecting “Registry Editor”. You can also open it by right-clicking Start, selecting Run, then typing regedit in the Open box and selecting OK.
Allow the registry editor to make changes to your computer. Once you open regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > PolicyManager > current > device. Right-click the device and select New > Key . Call it Education. In this key, right-click and select New > DWORD Value (32-bit) then create a DWORD named “EnableEduThemes”. Right-click this item, select Edit, then set the value to 1. Click OK.
Now restart your computer. When it boots up again, Windows will begin installing themes, so wait a bit before returning to Settings > Personalization . If everything went smoothly, you should see the new topics available to you, usually only on machines set up for learning.